Pipe-wrench.



S. A. WHETZEL.

PIPE WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. 1909,

Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

E8 PATEN FFIQE.

STEPHEN A. WHETZEL, OF SOUTH BROWNSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

PIPE-WRENCH.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. WVHET- ZEL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at South Brownsville, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piperenches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to pipe wrenches, and the invention has for its object to provide a wrench with positive and reliable means for gripping a pipe or any object having a curved surface, whereby the object can be rotated or moved without the wrench slipping and injuring either the object or the person manipulating the wrench.

My invention aims to provide a wrench with a novel gripping jaw that will have a tendency to tighten upon the object to be rotated as leverage is brought to bear upon the wrench. In this connection, my wrench has been designed for plumbers and artisans that have heretofore required wrenches of various sizes for gripping various sizes of pipes, also for those artisans having use for a quick acting wrench. To this end, I provide a wrench with a movable jaw that can be minutely adjusted, and in connection with the jaw I use a gripping block, which is connected to and positioned relative to the jaw whereby it will have a tendency to more firmly grip the object as leverage is brought to bear upon the wrench for rotating or turning the object.

My invention will be hereinafter considered in detail and then claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawing forming a part of this specification, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that the structural elements thereof can be varied or changed, as to the size, shape and manner of assemblage without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing :-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my wrench partly broken away and partly in section, Fig. 2 is a similar view of the wrench illustrating the movable jaw thereof in section, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the wrench taken on the line XX of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a similar view of the wrench taken on the line Y-Y of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a gripping block provided with teeth or serrations.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pattent gfl F431 15, 1910.

Application filed September 3, 1909.

Serial No. 51 6,140.

In the drawing 1 denotes a shank rectangular in cross section with the one end thereof provided with a fixed jaw 2 corresponding in width to the shank 1. The other end of the shank 1 terminates in a handle section 3 of a less width than the shank 1, the juncture of the handle section 3 with the shank 1 being provided with a head 4 having an opening 5 with the walls of said opening screw threaded.

6 denotes a strap embracing the shank 1, the ends of said strap extending beneath the fixed jaw 2 and they are connected by transverse rivets 7 to a movable jaw 8 arranged between the ends of the strap 6. The aw 8 is adapted to ride against the forward edge of the shank 1 and has one end thereof provided with a socket 10 for the reception of the smooth end of a screw 11, the latter being adjustably mounted in the opening 5 of the head 4 and also extends into the handle 3. The screw 11 is retained within the socket 10 by a set screw 12 detachably mounted in the jaw 8 and extending into a circumferentially arranged groove 13 provided therefor in the smooth end of the screw 11. In order that the screw can be easily rotated, said screw adjacent to the jaw 8 is provided with a knurled or roughened enlargement or nut 14.

The jaw 8 is beveled, as at 15 and provided with an inclined groove 16 adapted to receive the tongue 17 of a gripping block 18, said block confronting the fixed gripping jaw 2. The tongue 17 of the block 18 is provided with longitudinal openings or slots 19, and extending through said slots or openings are transverse pins 20 having the ends thereof loosely mounted in slots or openings 21 provided therefor in the jaw 8-. The material bordering upon the outer edges of the slots or openings 21 is cut away to provide seats 22 for the heads 23 of the pins 20. By countersinking the jaw 8 on each side thereof for the reception of the heads 23 of the pins 20 it is impossible for the transverse pins 20 to be injured, and it is through the medium of these pins that the gripping block 18 is normally maintained in engagement with the jaw 8. The slots 19 and 21 permit of the gripping block 18 moving to and from the shank 1 and in consequence of this adjustment pipes or objects of various sizes can be gripped by the block 18 and the jaw 2. In some instances, the block 18 can be provided with teeth nection with the jaw 2, it being preferable to provide the teeth or serrations where ex- .tremely smooth surfaces are to be gripped.

denotes handle pieces secured to the section 3 of the shank 1 by rivets 26, said handle pieces being cut away, as at 27 to provide clearance for the screw 11.

In the operation of my improved wrench, a movement of the wrench in one direction has a tendency to release the gripping block 18 from the object which it engages, while a movement of the wrench in the other direction has a tendency to tighten the gripping block upon the object which it grips. Such a movement of the gripping block facilitates the operation by a mechanic in gripping and releasing an object, it being almost impossible for the wrench to slip as long as pressure is maintained upon the same in the proper direct-ion, and the greater the leverage the greater the gripping power of the block 18.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, is v A pipe wrench comprising a shank terminating at one end in a handle and having. its other end provided with a fixed jaw, the handle portion of said shank formed with a head having a screw-threaded opening, a shiftable yoke-shaped strap embracing said shank, a jaw fixed between the ends of said strap and movable with the strap, a screw adjustably mounted in the head of the handle and having one end thereof extending in the shiftable jaw carried by the strap, means carried by the shiftable jaw and engaging in said screw for coupling the screw with the jaw, said shiftable jaw having that face opposing the fixed jaw provided with an inclined groove, said shiftable jaw further provided in each side with a plurality of countersunk portions and further having a plurality of inclined slots having their ends terminating in the countersunk portions, a gripping block provided with a tongue extending in said inclined groove, said tongue formed with inclined slots adapted to register with the inclined slots of the jaw, and pins extending through said slots and having the head at each end positioned in the countersunk portions of the shiftable jaw, the outer faces of said head flush with the sides of said shiftable jaw.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN A. VVHETZE L.

Witnesses LEE LOUENSTEIN, M. J. REAGEN. 

